10th Grade Homework:The Elements of Suspense

10A and 10B: on Thursday and Friday, you will be writing a 3-4 page suspense story. In your story, I want you to choose at least six of these literary elements/themes and incorporate them into your story so that you can show me how you deliberately thought about your story and the structure of your story. Below, I have posted some of the elements of a suspenseful story-- you should have this written in your notes so that you can refer to it as you write your story. I'm really excited to see your work!

Themes:

The supernatural: things that go beyond nature—monsters, ghosts, demons, the ants in Leiningen versus the Ants, zombies, mummies, mutants

The unknown/the fear of the unknown

Death

Examples of the use of the fear of the unknown:
1. When you are introduced to the narrator of the Tell-Tale Heart, you are filled with uncertainty about his sanity. He insists that he is sane, yet his actions do not seem sane, and therefore, you are put in a situation where you must decide whether you will trust him.
2. The Erl-King is a suspenseful story because the boy knows that the Erl-King is coming to get him, but his father can’t see or hear him. Also, in the poem, it is unclear whether the Erl-King really exists or whether it is just the freezing weather that kills the boy.

3. The Raven is a mysterious poem because it is unclear why the raven has come to the man and why it keeps saying “Nevermore.” Its true nature and the true meaning of the poem is left unclear, which unsettles the reader. The poem is also tense because there is tapping on the door and window, but when the man looks, nobody is there.


Examples of the theme of death-
An encounter with death or the act of dying either physically or spiritually (like in The Erl-King)

The death of a loved one- (The Raven)

The violence and horror of death—i.e. the murder of the old man in The Tell-Tale Heart and the consequences of such a violent act.

Literary Elements that Help Create Suspense
Alliteration—can help speed up the pace of the words, and this speed can increase your excitement.

Repetition and refrain- both serve as a way to emphasize the importance of certain ideas or images in the story—in The Tell- Tale Heart, the speaker’s repeated insistence that he is not crazy can make the reader believe that he is truly crazy. In the Raven, the repetition of Nevermore makes the mood darker and more mysterious. Repetition, like alliteration, can also speed up the pace of the story and that can make it more exciting to read.

Imagery- when a story has clear and memorable imagery, it helps the reader see the story in their mind, and this can make it much scarier depending on the details that you give. The more you see something in your mind, the more you feel like you are in the story. However, if you are seeking to disorient your reader and thus create a fear of the unknown within them, then you need to be careful about your choice of detail and imagery. Suspense stories often rely on imagery that appeals to the sense of sound (i.e. The Highwayman and The Tell-Tale Heart)

Point of View: if you choose to write the story in the first perspective, you can make the story more suspenseful because it makes the reader feel like they are in the mind of the main character of the story, and also, this perspective is LIMITED so it can heighten the sense of mystery.

Writing in the objective perspective can also be very suspenseful since you only present actions and do not explain the thoughts of characters—this once again can be useful if you are seeking to create the fear of the unknown within the reader.

Conflict: Obviously one of the biggest ways you can create excitement and suspense within a story is creating a problem for your protagonist to face—when you make your main character, don’t make him/her perfect, because if they are perfect, the conflict won’t seem like a real struggle.

Dialogue: the dialogue between characters can create suspense, especially if the dialogue is not natural, such as in the Erl-King, where the boy can hear the Erl-King, but his father cannot, or in The Raven, where the speaker asks the raven many questions but the raven replies with only one word. It can also be powerful when the speaker of the story has a sort of dialogue between himself and the reader—in The Tell-Tale Heart, the speaker says things like “How then, am I mad?” or “You fancy me mad….” This involves the reader and forces the reader to interact with the characters of the story, which can create excitement and interest.

Setting: This is best established by a careful choice of imagery and description—think about it—which story is most likely to be a suspense story—one that is set on a sunny day in a park with a rainbow shining overhead or one that is set in a cave in the middle of the wilderness?

Mood: The mood of a story depends on the setting and imagery of the story. If your story begins on a dark and stormy night, then it has a better chance of being scary to the reader because those things create nervousness in people.

Dramatic Irony:if the audience/reader knows something but the main character does not, it can create a lot of tension since the audience is forced to watch the main character make decisions that lead to their death.

Foreshadowing/Surprise Endings: small hints about the ending of a story followed by a surprising/unexpected twist at the end of a story an be very exciting and entertaining for a reader.

10th Grade Homework for 5/11-5/15

10A: You must finish your comprehension questions for Oedipus the King pages 187-210 by Tuesday, 5/12. We will be going over the answers to these comprehension questions on Tuesday and Wednesday in class.

On Thursday and Friday, we will be working on our suspense stories in the computer lab, so be prepared to use that time wisely. These stories will be due on Tuesday, 5/19.

Your next reading assignment for Oedipus the King is pages 211-234. This is due on Thursday, 5/21.

10B: You must finish your comprehension questions for Oedipus the King pages 187-210 by Tuesday, 5/12. We will be going over the answers to these comprehension questions on Tuesday and Wednesday in class.

On Thursday and Friday, we will be working on our suspense stories in the computer lab, so be prepared to use your time wisely there. These stories will be due on Tuesday, 5/19.

Your next reading assignment for Oedipus the King is pages 211-234. This is due on Thursday, 5/21.



HINT: Tuesday, 5/12 would be a great day for a pop quiz!

9th Grade Homework for 5/11-5/15

9A- The comprehension questions and summary for pages 79-95 of The Story of King Arthur and His Knights are due on Tuesday, 5/12.

You must also read O. Henry's Lost on Dress Parade on pages 131-135 and write a summary of the story by Thursday, 5/14.

The comprehension questions for O. Henry's Lost on Dress Parade are due on Friday, 5/15.


9B- The comprehension questions and summary for pages 79-95 of The Story of King Arthur and His Knights are due on Tuesday, 5/12.

You must also read The Necklace on pages 120-126 and do the comprehension questions for this story by Thursday.

On Friday, you will be having a lecture about some literary terms within The Necklace.


9A and 9B must read pages 97-122 of The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Thursday, 5/21